We do not need to try again. Not sure why you even bother asking "better" players for advise then (talking about tactics there). 

I will share a very interesting story though. I don't know how helpful it is or not. However, maybe its another alternative.

I have an online friend from chess.com. Well I haven't seen him in a while but he was on my friends list and active before. He went to try out there FIDE online arena thing. He plays Over The Board in real life every once and a while. He doesn't have a Title or anything but he has a decent ranking I would say. I believe he is in the 1700's area in standard Over The Board.

He is registered under FIDE OTB. He has an ID and all of that etc.

Any way He went to play on the FIDE online arena and he told me it wasn't that bad for him. I believe since he was already registered as an OTB player with all his information already given in person they was able to make the transfer easier maybe?

However, don't quote me. I honestly don't know since it wasn't me. I'm just going on what he said.

So maybe if you have an OTB ranking or if you can register for one maybe it will make the transfer easier? However, I have never done it and I have never registered there so I don't know what process is easier. Its just something I was told etc.

Maybe its an alternative option which might save you from give out all your information blindly into cyber space.

I don't know what verification process they have though. So maybe even in that process you have to give your information. I honestly don't know. Just putting it out there though.

Yes. Because this is an actual FIDE "thing", there can be issues with confirming an identity of a person. This is not just a fake rating thing, this is a real rating thing. They need to make sure a person is not playing multiple accounts, their rating is what they claim it is, they are who they say they are, ect.

It's for this reason why the payment could not be instant. The information is probably submited to them, once you become verified, your payment is processed.

It would be different if you were signing up your a free account, which the OP was not.

All I have is this speculation though, and since the OP doesnt want to hear my words, ive been reduced to saying "wait 48 hours" since that is the best thing for him.

Real FIDE ratings from home is the allure of FIDE Online Arena. To call it a "scam" is ridiculous.

Omg...you are RETARDED. Right...ALL you have is speculation and yet you're sitting here ranting on and on defending something that you have absolutely nothing to do with.

What do you not GET about that after the payment information and all of my detailed personal information is submitted they need to say SOMETHING. Some direction as to "please wait up to 48 hours for your transaction to be processed" or "you will receive further instructions via email". Don't you get that my entire complaint is that after you submit sensitive information to them they don't correspond with you in any way, shape, or form? I have never heard of submitting payment information like that and then just being told nothing for a few days. It's not like they TELL YOU UPFRONT to wait for any length of time.

It's for these facts that you just totally have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. It is sickening that people as dense as you exist and have internet access.

I mean you are sitting there, for hours now, defending absolutely nothing but hypotheticals and assumptions and admitting that you're only speculating. I want you to realize, Sir, that you are exhibiting an unbelievable amount of stubborness and ignorance in this thread. I mean, you're an off the charts idiot. Back away from the keyboard for a few months and mind your own business. You're just ...mindless.

You're probably right in that the issue here is that I was signing up from sheer scratch and therefore actually needed a FIDE ID provided in this transaction. It makes sense that this wouldn't be absolutely immediate but it makes no sense whatsoever to simply be bounced back to the login screen right after I enter in my payment information and hit "pay" and given absolutely no further instruction whatsoever. Did it go through? Do I need to wait a day or two or three for a verification process? Will I be receiving an email with further instructions? Nothing.

ANYONE with half a brain cell can see the dilemma there. The fact that it's FIDE and an actual bonafide organization is what makes this kind of incompetence worse. This isn't Charlie's Pub and it was a $78 USD transaction.

1) This thread was made 6 hours ago. In your OP you said "earlier today". Now, you're saying it's been "a few days". The problem with lying is that you have to carefully remember everything you've said... sometimes you forget and the lie is exposed.

2) Clearly, this is no longer about FIDE Arena being a "scam". You have carefully avoided that word in all of your subsequent posts. This suggests to me that you admit fault.

3) Telling me that "this has nothing to do with you" and to "mind my own business" is making you sound like a guy who is verbally assualting his wife and has then turned his attention to bystanders trying to break up the confrontation.

4) You are incorrect to assume that you have my undivided attention.

Wait a few actual days and calm down while you wait for their response. This is the last thing ill say to you.

I really hope it is the last thing you'll say. You are, by far, the most ignorant and stubborn person I have ever interacted with in my life. I mean, they broke the mold when they made you.

In the end he just repeats "wait a few days". I mean, is this guy the dumbest person on the Chess.com forums or what?

I consider any service that collects my name, address, social security number, driver's license ID #, photo of my driver's license, debit card to my bank account, and then never interacts with me again and never gives me what I provided the information for in the first place, a scam. That's quite reasonable.

FWIW, when I signed up with the Arena I received a confirmation e-mail almost immediately. And yes, I signed up for a new FIDE id as well (scan of driver's license and all that, payed through paypal). My account was also activated immediately, although my FIDE profile took a couple of days to show up on the web.

When was this that you signed up? Was it somewhat recently?

It just seems extremely strange how they're not responding to any emails (neither Arena or PremiumChess) and no matter what I do I can't get the signup to go through.

Further, that they don't have a phone number you can reach for customer service is also just ridiculous, IMO. When these companies hide like this and then don't respond to the email they provide ...what's left to think other than that they're extremely unprofessional...or worse? In my experience, when a company is just asleep at the wheel like this in the middle of the week, something's up.

 A couple of weeks ago. 

I just don't get it. I've never encountered anything like this when signing up for and/or purchasing something online.

Any number of things could be wrong with the website or new signups but that really has nothing to do with their total lack of response or reachable customer service. That's just atrocious.

So, I thought I would update this out of accuracy and fairness:

FIDE and PremiumChess got back to me a short while ago and apologized at length. Long story short: They had a problem that they didn't even know about with their servers yesterday and literally no new signups came through. Let's just say they made it right and I am now registered and have a FIDE ID #.

They need to be a little more careful with the way they process this kind of information if they're going to request that much of it. I don't think anybody likes the "sound of silence" after they hit "pay" on a transaction like that which includes a driver's license photo, etc.

It would also be nice if they had some sort of 24 hour customer support either through an online app or a direct phone number. We'll see how playing there works out.

I still wouldn't have given FIDE my SSN. That's just asking for trouble.

I totally agree with what your saying.

All your sensitive information exposed on the web with no answer. There is something wrong with them people.

They should have an online help center where you can at least talk to someone over the net. Obviously they are going to lose alot of customers over this.

The Alternative I was suggesting was simply a way of trying to maybe avoid having all your information on the net. However, I'm sure they would have you try and verify etc. So you might still end up giving some information over the web for verification purposes. However, Maybe it wouldn't be as extensive. However, that is complete speculation of course. I have not registered over there.

From the way it sounds I do not think I want to either.

Well I just read your post now. That is a very happy conclusion. Very nerve racking for sure.

Oddly enough, the forms I filled out today never asked for it. Just a driver's license, state ID, or passport, etc. I guess that's still too much for a lot of people though and I don't blame them.

At least they apologized and acknowledged that they understood why that would be such a problem for folks trying to sign up. Still, it was definitely testing.

FIDE Online Arena = Scam?

-FTFY

interesting "psycho-therapy session"....everyone doing all right ?

        " You enter in everything, press pay, it goes to "processing" with the spinning wheel, and then you're just hopped back to the main page"     The continuous spinning wheel sounds like a Java issue on someone's end.  Yours or their's.